So Confusing
by autumn midnights
Summary: Hugo's brooding over Tori Nott. Molly's trying to break free from her good-girl image. When they kiss at Lily's secret party, they both notice the chemistry; but they didn't expect everything to be so confusing. Oneshot, rated T.


Disclaimer: I'm on a website called fanfiction. Do you really think I own Harry Potter?

A/N: For Lovisa's 150 Beautiful and Colorful Prompts thread on the Next-Gen Fanatics forum. Prompts are 'brown', 'study', and 'brood', and pairing is Molly II/Hugo.

* * *

"You absolutely cannot stay up in your room and brood all the time." Rose rolled her eyes and pulled on her younger brother's arm. "Honestly, don't you have anything better to do...like, I don't know, pack your trunk?" She gestured at the things strewn all over the floor. Hugo didn't even bother to get up from his bed, despite his sister's repeated tugging on his arm. "Merlin, Hugo, you've been sulking all summer because that Tori Nott dumped you. Why on earth you even went out with her in the first place, I don't know." She shook her head. "You should know better than to try and date Lily's friends. You can't trust a Slytherin."

"You're just still mad at Scorpius," Hugo said. His voice was slightly hoarse from disuse. "Besides, you trust Lily, don't you?"

"I trust her not to kill me in my sleep," Rose replied dryly. "Do I trust her not to prank me at the most inopportune times? No. Now get your lazy arse out of bed and pack. You're leaving for your last year at Hogwarts, don't ruin it for yourself by being all sulky."

"I'm not sulky," Hugo muttered, well aware that his tone was indeed quite sulky. He had been in his room for most of the summer; Rose was correct in saying so. He had dated Tori Nott for six months, which probably didn't seem like a long time. However, Tori had a reputation and rarely went out with anyone for more than a month or two; it was usually pretty obvious that the relationships were nothing but physical. But with him, she hadn't tried to rush things; they hadn't even slept together during those six months. He had honestly thought she changed just for him. Apparently not, because after she had broken up with him, she had been seen making out with somebody else not even one day later.

"Yes you are." Rose sighed heavily. "I'm not packing your trunk for you, and neither are our parents, so you better start packing unless you want to get up at some ungodly hour tomorrow morning and do it." The look on her face suggested that she was not kidding in the least bit, and that she would be the one to drag him out of bed at six in the morning if it was necessary. She wouldn't mind, early riser that she was.

"Are you coming to King's Cross tomorrow?" he asked as he halfheartedly threw a couple old quills into his wastebasket.

"I've got work," she replied importantly. Rose's job wasn't anything special - she worked as a salesgirl at Flourish and Blotts - but the way she acted sometimes, it was as if she had been elected Minister of Magic. It was quite annoying, although usually he didn't bother to say so. Knowing her, she'd be able to come up with many more traits of his that irritated her; she was much more observant and detailed than he was, and probably had a list titled 'Things That Annoy Me About Hugo' tacked up in her room somewhere. He wouldn't put it past her.

"You're not going to see me off for my last year at Hogwarts? The one that I better not ruin?" He smirked at her as he tossed a couple books into his trunk, barely checking to see if they were the right ones.

"That's from last year, you idiot." Rose bent down and pulled out _Standard Book Of Spells, Grade 6. "_Seriously, Hugo, pay attention. I bet Lily has already packed by now."

"That's because she probably bribed Al to do it," he answered. Lily would do something like that, he was sure of it. "I bet Molly has had her trunk packed for weeks. She's a bloody seventh year, and she's still as excited about Hogwarts as she was...before she even went! Remember she insisted on going to see everybody off, even before she could even go? Like your first year, she went because she wanted to say goodbye to Victoire and Roxanne, I think, and she wanted a look at the Hogwarts train even though she wouldn't be going for two more years...weirdo."

"She isn't a weirdo," Rose said. "So she likes school. I did, and you never called me a weirdo."

"That's because you'd hex me," he replied smartly. "Besides, Molly's weirder than you. She's probably Head Girl and everything."

"I can't believe we haven't seen her all summer," Rose said thoughtfully. "I mean, I know she was staying with her friends, but still. It was weird to go to family gatherings and not see her there. Then with Lily being gone for a month, too...it's weird to think that we're all growing up."

"Not Lucy," Hugo said. "She's only going into, what, third year, I think? She's not grown up."

"I said growing up, not grown up. _Idiot," _she added under her breath, ducking to avoid the rolled up piece of parchment Hugo subsequently threw at her. "Anyway, just pack, will you?" She shut the door rather loudly on her way out, causing him to jump slightly. He reluctantly began to pack, for, despite his irritation at his sister and despair over the beautiful, no-longer-his-girlfriend Tori, he was still going to Hogwarts in only fifteen hours or so, and he did need his things for that. He paid attention to what he was doing - it was somewhat easier to do when Rose wasn't standing next to him being obnoxious - and had finished in only a half hour.

"Take that, Rose," he mumbled under his breath, and fell back onto his bed.

* * *

The following day he went with his father to King's Cross station; his mother, like Rose, had to work and couldn't get the day off. He didn't particularly care, anyway, because although he loved his mum, and his sister, it would be kind of stupid for them to get the day off just to watch him board a train. He waved to his father as he stepped on, pulling his trunk along and looking for someone he wouldn't mind spending the train ride with. Preferably Lily; they didn't hang out at school much because of their separate houses, and the train ride would be a good opportunity to catch up. He finally found her, sitting in a compartment near the end of the train. "Hey," he said as he stepped inside, levitating his suitcase into the overhead compartment. "How was summer?"

"Good. It was nice to finally be able to do magic outside of Hogwarts; I hexed James when he wasn't looking and he thought it was Al." Lily grinned mischievously. "Then I went off to Daisy's house - do you know how big that thing is? It's probably a mansion, technically speaking."

"Was Tori with you?" The question slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it, and he mentally berated himself.

"Yes, she was." Lily rolled her eyes. "Please tell me that you're over her. Seriously." She ran a hand through her short red hair, sighing as the train finally began to move. "Hugo..."

"Lily..." he replied, mocking her tone as opposed to actually answering her. One glare from her shut him up promptly. "Fine, I still like her. I thought she honestly changed for me."

"I just don't get why you dated her in the first place." She shook her head. "I mean, you don't even like my friends - hell, that's why we never hang out at school, because you think my friends are bitches and I think yours are idiots. Then you go and shag Tori Nott."

"I didn't shag her," Hugo protested, although such a thing was rather hard to believe, considering Tori's reputation. He made eye contact with his cousin - who still seemed to not believe him - and repeated himself. "I didn't shag her!" Considering he wasn't a good liar, she should believe him, he thought. Lily could usually tell when somebody was lying, probably because she lied to people often.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. You didn't shag her. But that doesn't mean I understand why you dated her. Really," she added loftily, sprawling out across the entire bench so that anybody who came into their compartment would have to share with Hugo. "Did you even like her?"

"Lily, do we have to talk about this?"

"Fine," she said. "How about if we talk about my upcoming party?"

"We're not even at Hogwarts and you're planning a party?" It wasn't _really _a surprise, technically speaking. Lily was definitely the sort of girl who planned illicit parties that ended up being the biggest event of the year. She was infamous, in a way; she was always getting in trouble for one reason or the other, and with the added drama of a Potter being placed in Slytherin, it made her even more interesting to the general population of Hogwarts. If Lily was throwing a party, it would be well-attended, that's for sure.

"Yes I am," Lily said, "and you are most certainly attending, by the way." She fixed him with a stern glare. "Maybe you could find someone there to go out with. Somebody better than Tori, anyway."

"She's your best friend!"

Lily shrugged. "You two were a horrible match, face it. She needs somebody who will call her out on her shit. You'd just take it." Hugo opened his mouth to protest, but she continued talking before he had a chance to say anything. "Seriously. You can't date a Slytherin." She tossed her hair, which, considering it was only chin-length, didn't have the effect she was probably going for. "Few people can."

"You do realize you're kind of obnoxious sometimes?" Hugo was probably the only person who could get away with saying such a thing to Lily Luna Potter; most other people would end up in the Hospital Wing with the effects of some hex all over their bodies. Insulting Lily was something that few people dared do, as a result. She always had a soft spot for Hugo, though, and he was smart enough to take advantage of this.

She rolled her eyes. "You do realize you act like a doormat sometimes?"

"Excuse me?"

"You let people walk all over you." She smirked in that infuriating, completely-Slytherin way of hers. "I have to go. I promised somebody I would hang out with them for a little while. I'll be back, Hughie."

"Don't call me that!" he said, but by that time she had already left.

* * *

The first night back progressed as always. The Sorting took a long time - but then, it seemed to every single year, considering how hungry all the older students were - and the food was good; Professor Clearwater, the headmistress, made her introduction-to-Hogwarts speech and sent them all off to their common rooms. The prefects led the youngest while the others followed along behind, talking and catching up with their friends, many of whom they hadn't seen all summer. Hugo's dorm-mates were nowhere to be seen, but then, in the crowd of people, it was hard for Hugo to see considering he wasn't particularly tall.

He reached the dormitory first; the other boys, Isaac, Morgan, Andre, and Alexander, came in a couple of minutes later. "Have you heard?" Isaac asked. "Your cousin - the hot Slytherin one - is throwing a party first weekend of the school year. It's going to be great."

"Yeah, she told me," he answered. "I didn't know it was so soon, though."

"She couldn't have it too much later," Alexander reasoned. "Then people would have more essays and assignments, and there wouldn't be as many people attending."

"Yes there would," Andre said. "It is Lily Potter, after all."

"You know your other cousin made Head Girl?" Morgan flopped down on his bed. "Molly. She got hot over the summer."

Hugo snorted. "Molly? Hot? Are you confusing her with somebody else?"

"No," Morgan said firmly. "Head Girl Molly is hot. Wait until you see her - even you'll have to admit that she's much better-looking now."

Hugo wasn't so sure about that. It wasn't that Molly was hideous; it was just that she never bothered to dress prettily, put on makeup, or actually do more with her hair than just comb it. She always had her nose in a book except when she was sucking up to one of the teachers, and she had few, if any, friends. He had never heard anybody describe Molly Ginevra Weasley as hot; usually that adjective was used more to describe Lily, who was certainly pretty (and knew it, too). He doubted Molly could have changed that much in the course of just one summer. That wasn't even possible, he thought. "I doubt it," Hugo said slowly, but his roommates didn't press the issue apart from Morgan, who muttered something that may or may not have been 'we'll see'.

He quickly learned that seventh year was a lot harder than sixth. The teachers began getting on the students' cases about N.E.W.T.s the very first day back, despite the fact that the tests themselves were in June and therefore, the students had many months to begin studying for them. The coursework itself, both inside and outside the classroom, was at least twice as hard as the previous year, or at least it was for Hugo. He wasn't even taking that many courses - Herbology, Muggle Studies, Divination, History of Magic, and Astronomy; he wasn't particularly good at practical magic, and had decided to give up those courses the previous year. However, even in these five classes, ones that most students would consider to be easier than their counterparts, the work was intense.

Lily's party, then, couldn't come fast enough. He wasn't usually much of a drinker - or partier, for that matter - but he was looking forward to relaxing, at least for one night, and forgetting about the intense schoolwork. Few people had also stayed on in his classes, so the teachers had less people to call on; he didn't particularly enjoy the attention that such a thing brought. He was beginning to understand the hatred that most students had for their seventh year. He had seen it with his older cousins, but always thought they were making such a big deal out of it.

They weren't. Seventh year sucked, to put it bluntly, and they weren't even a week into it.

* * *

Lily's party was held in the Slytherin common room. Technically speaking, students from a different house weren't supposed to enter another house's common room. Students were definitely not supposed to hold inter-house parties in said common room, with people from all four houses and the upper three years all in attendance. But then, Lily was never one to obey the rules, that was for sure. She went around to every single person she had invited - and that was a lot, considering she had invited almost everyone from fifth through seventh year - and told them the password (another thing that was definitely not allowed) to get in.

Hugo and his dorm-mates arrived together, going at nine-thirty so that nobody would see them being out after curfew (the fact that they would indeed be out after curfew when they left the party was unavoidable). They were some of the first people there, but that didn't particularly matter since all the Slytherins were there anyway, and Lily, as the hostess of the party, was among them. She already had a drink in her hand, and was sipping from it often as she talked, although it didn't seem to be having that much effect on her so far.

"Hey," Morgan said to Lily. "Is Molly going to be here?"

"Probably," Lily smirked. "You got a crush on her or something?"

"No. She's just hot."

Lily grinned. "Yeah, she had a little help from me." She glanced over at Hugo, who was determinedly looking anywhere but at Tori, who was sitting on the lap of some Slytherin boy. "That's where I was the second half of summer holidays, you know. Helping Molly break away from her goody-goody image."

"She's Head Girl," Hugo said. "She's got to be somewhat good."

"Who said that?" a voice from behind him said. He turned his head to see who it was; it was Molly, actually, but she didn't look like Molly. Her long, dark-red hair was curled, and reached halfway down her back. Her shirt was tight enough to clearly show her curves, and she had on a skirt that would probably make their grandmother faint because of its shortness. Morgan was right - Molly actually was hot. There was no denying it, even though they were related; he could still notice the fact that she was pretty just like he did with Lily. Just because they were family didn't mean that he was blind to them - that idea was absolutely ridiculous. "Because I'm pretty sure," Molly continued, "that sneaking out to an illicit party in the Slytherin common room isn't 'somewhat good'."

"Molly! You look great," Lily said, taking a swig from her drink. "I told you, you clean up good." She was obviously happy at the change in Molly. The two girls had never been close, since Lily was a troublemaking Slytherin and Molly was the Ravenclaw prefect who never had gotten a single detention. This had, apparently, changed over the summer when Lily gave Molly a makeover. It was interesting to see, Hugo thought. Despite the fact that they were all born within the same year, it had always been Lily-and-Hugo, and Molly was on her own with a book somewhere. That changed even more when they got into Hogwarts, and they were separated into three different houses; then it became Lily and the Slytherins, Hugo and the Hufflepuffs, and Molly and the Ravenclaws.

"Thanks, now where's the drinks?" Molly glanced at what was in Lily's cup. "I'd love some of that."

"What has happened to her?" Isaac muttered as Molly sauntered off to the opposite side of the rooms, where the drinks were.

The night wore on. Everyone there had downed at least a couple drinks, and as a result, most people either had a buzz, were tipsy, or were completely drunk, and because of this, there was not very much coherent behaviors occurring. Several couples were making out and groping one another in full view of everyone else, squished onto one of the chairs; the few people who didn't have somebody to make out with were jumbled in a group, sipping their drinks and talking about nothing in particular. There weren't very many in the group; there was only a couple of sixth years, Molly, Hugo, Lily's roommate Mina, two Ravenclaw boys, and Isaac.

"How 'bout if we play Truth or Dare?" one of the sixth years slurred. "Tha's always fun."

"That's as good a choice as any, I suppose," Mina said, and the rest of them nodded. Lily came over just as she finished.

"What're we doing?" she asked. She sounded slightly more coherent than she should have been, considering the four drinks she had over the course of the night (which would have been a lot for Hugo) but then, she had always been good at holding her liquor.

"Truth or Dare," Molly answered. "You're up first. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," Lily answered, perching on the edge of a couch.

"Who were you with just now?"

"Patrick Corner. Um...you -" she pointed to the sixth year who had suggested the game. "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

"Um, I dare you to join in with them." She pointed to Tori and her Slytherin boy. As soon as the sixth year had returned (giving Lily a dirty look) she turned to Hugo.

"Hugo, truth or dare."

"Dare." He shrugged. He didn't particularly want to spill out his secrets in front of these people; Isaac and Lily were the only ones he really trusted, and even Lily might spread something around for amusement if she was particularly bored.

"I dare you to make out with her." The sixth year pointed to Molly, who looked vaguely surprised.

"We're related," Hugo said. Just because he thought she was hot didn't mean he wanted to...okay, he _did _want to make out with her, but still. They were cousins; they were actually related by blood. They shouldn't be kissing.

"So?" The sixth year adapted a slightly threatening expression. "You dropping out of the game?"

"Come on, Hugo," Molly said. "Will you decide already?" She tapped her foot impatiently. Lily looked slightly amused at the whole situation, which didn't particularly surprise him. He took the couple steps over to Molly and lightly pecked her on the lips, but as he pulled away he noticed everybody rolling their eyes.

"That does not count!" The sixth year, who was now officially irritating, snapped. "Either make out or leave!"

It was Molly, surprisingly, who initiated it and kissed him. She was a good kisser, although he didn't have a whole lot of experience apart from Tori, and couldn't compare her to previous kisses. There had been Hazel Norris in third year, but that had been only because Hazel had wanted to say she had her first kiss. Chloe Summers in fifth year had only let him kiss her once, before she broke up with him the next day. Tori and him had kissed, but he didn't particularly want to think of her at the moment. It felt slightly weird to be making out with Molly, since they were related, but in his half-drunken state, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. There was physical chemistry there, and in that moment, that was all that mattered.

* * *

The next day was awkward, to say the least. Molly didn't even make eye contact with him once, although he looked over at the Ravenclaw table several times. His roommates were acting strangely, also; part of it was obviously because they were slightly hungover, but he suspected part of it was because he had kissed Molly. She had left the party right after that, barely looking back as she hurried out of the Slytherin common rooms except to mutter something about 'not feeling so great'. It was an obvious excuse, though, as she had been fine not even three minutes before.

The days after were the same. Although he and Molly didn't share any classes, he caught even fewer glimpses of her than he had the previous year - and in the previous year, he hadn't been trying to find her. She avoided all the places that he was, and even once, when they were heading into the same corridor from opposite ends, she backtracked and rapidly headed the way that she had come. He had been tempted to chase after her, but had decided not to. Why make himself look like even more of an idiot? The whole school already knew of him as either 'Rose Weasley's little brother', 'Lily's cousin', or 'that bloke who only takes easy classes'. He didn't really want to be known as 'the boy who's obsessed with his cousin'.

"Have you talked to Molly recently?" he asked Lily as they were in the library. He had finally convinced her to study, something that she rarely did; she had a habit of cramming in the few weeks before a test to make up for her general slacking behavior the rest of the year. He wasn't a big studier either, although he was better than she was. He had wanted more to talk to her than actually to get any work done, which was good for Lily, who hadn't even cracked open a book.

She shrugged. "A little."

"Well, what's going on with her?"

"She lost her Head Girl badge," Lily said. "Professor MacDougal caught her coming back to Ravenclaw the night of the party, and it was obvious that Molly was drunk. Plus she hadn't been wearing her school robes properly before that, and other shit like that, so she lost the damn thing. She's kind of upset about it...I don't understand why, personally."

"That's because you are the last person that the school would ever consider for a prefect or Head Girl," Hugo retorted. "Besides, I meant...did she say anything about me?"

Lily smirked. "You like her, don't you?"

"I, er...it's none of your business."

"That just means yes," Lily said.

"Lily, did she say anything about me?" he repeated. "She's just been avoiding me, and it's kind of weird."

"You made out with her at a party, and you're _cousins. _Of course it's going to be weird between you." The Slytherin rolled her eyes. "I'll tell you what she said, because I'm feeling nice today. She's confused about the whole thing. She's confused about you, and upset about the whole stupid Head Girl thing, and she has no idea what to do because you're her cousin and it's not common." She shrugged. "I told her that being normal and conforming to the popular opinion is stupid. She told me that as the first Potter or Weasley in Slytherin, I accomplished the 'being abnormal' thing at eleven."

"You were always abnormal," he muttered, earning him a slap upside the head. "Ow!"

"Better a slap than a hex," Lily smirked, hopping off the chair and sashaying off.

He didn't know who was more infuriating, Molly or Lily.

* * *

It took him four days to work up the courage to find Molly. Not to mention it was difficult to find her; she had apparently developed Lily's skill of avoidance (although Lily usually avoided teachers or prefects, of course), and was using it to evade him. It was quite annoying, but finally he cornered her coming out of the Great Hall. He caught her arm and gently led her down a corridor that was rarely used, as it didn't lead anywhere. He searched for the right words to say, and finally decided on, "You've been avoiding me."

"Yes," she agreed, nodding.

"Why?"

"Because it's bloody confusing," she replied simply. "You made out with me. I know that you enjoyed it, too, and I know you felt the chemistry, or sparks, or whatever the hell you want to call...whatever the hell we felt. Then everything is just back to normal. I don't know how to interact with you. I mean...it's just so weird, because we're cousins, and what will people think of us? We're under scrutiny, both of us, just because of who our parents are. Not to mention everyone thinks of me as the ex-Head Girl. I'm only the third person to have a Head badge retracted. And you...it's just...I don't know!" She threw her hands up. "I don't know what to do, Hugo!"

"Neither do I," he said quietly. "It's not easy for me either. I mean, look at you. You're beautiful, you're smart, and you're finally breaking free from your father's shadow. But we're cousins. I mean, I know it's not illegal, but it's not exactly the sort of thing that most people support. I don't know what to do either. I want there to be something for us, but...I don't know what to do." He ran a hand through his reddish-brown hair. "Could we actually deal with all the people criticizing us?"

"Should we find out?" she whispered, taking his hand. "Or should we stay hidden?"

"I don't know," he said, his voice soft. "I have no idea. I wouldn't know how to tell people...but then, sneaking around would have its drawbacks as well."

"If we didn't want to tell people, we could always put Lily in charge of that," Molly smirked. "It would be around the whole school in...an hour, maybe?"

Hugo laughed. "I would have said a half hour," he joked, and the mood relaxed slightly. "Anyway...let's not think about it right now. We'll deal with that later." He pulled her close to him, and for a little while, all the nervousness - about the rumors that would spread, about his roommates' reactions, about his _family - _was gone, and it was just Hugo&Molly, together, if only for a short time.

* * *

**I figured this would be a little longer, but whatever. Anyway, this is a oneshot and will not be continued. Thanks for reading, and please review!**


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